Sam Lowes has been ruled out of Race 2 at this weekend's WorldSBK Czech Round, following a crash in the Superpole Race.
The crash saw Lowes lose control of his Marc VDS Ducati in braking for turn one, and high-sided as a result. Scott Redding was unfortunate to be caught up in the crash, but was unhurt.
Lowes was shown by broadcast cameras to be mobile in the gravel trap following the crash, but was taken to the medical centre. There, he was diagnosed with a nondisplaced fracture of the left collarbone, and declared unfit as a result, ruling him out of Race 2.
Lowes' crash was not the only high-profile incident at the first corner during the Superpole Race, as Alvaro Bautista launched a last lap attack on his factory Ducati teammate Nicolo Bulega for second place. Bautista out-braked himself, though, forcing Bulega to cut turn two and sending himself into the gravel, too, where he crashed. Bulega continued and finished second, ahead of Alex Lowes, while Bautista remounted only to return to the pits on the final lap rather than take the chequered flag.
The factory Ducati riders had started the race well, leading the race in a 1-2 for the first two laps, before Toprak Razgatlioglu took point on lap three and charged to his 50th career, and ninth consecutive, WorldSBK race win.
